Karbala: Stampede during Ashura commemorations leaves several dead

A deadly stampede during Ashura commemorations has left at least 31 people dead and more than 100 injured in Karbala, Iraq.

The Shia Muslims congregated to commemorate the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein at Karbala in 680AD.

Health ministry spokesperson predicted that the death toll by the stampede can increase. The incident happened after a pilgrim fell during a ritual known as ‘Tuwairij run’ and triggered the bloody stampede.

Shia Muslims from all around the globe commemorated Ashura day annually on 10th of Muharram. At that day, millions of Shia Muslim pilgrims reach Karbala to mourn on Hussein’s martyrdom.

Earlier, in 2004 Ashura day, bombings in Karbala and Baghdad killed more than 140 people. In the same year, more than 965 pilgrims lost their lives in bloody stampede over River Tigris on another holy day of Shia.